Circular Economies in an Unequal World: Waste, Renewal and the Effects of Global Circularity

This first anthropological open access volume on 'circular economies' examines the global implications of this concept, including the tensions between state and corporate ideals and the vernacular practices and philosophies that exist around the world. It is available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 25 January 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This groundbreaking first anthropological open-access volume on the topic of "circular economies" brings together a diverse range of international scholars with regional specializations in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America to explore the concept's global implications. While aspirations towards a circular economy have gained widespread attention worldwide, social anthropology has largely overlooked the potentially profound social impacts of this concept, despite its obvious implications across various economic and societal levels. This volume addresses this gap by covering a wide range of international actors, including waste-pickers, traders, and policymakers, as well as the global movement of materials such as metals, plastics, and textiles. Through ethnographic and qualitative case studies, it sheds light on the tensions that exist between state and corporate ideals of the circular economy and the vernacular practices and philosophies that exist across the globe. Contributors examine the frictions that arise as these concepts and materials traverse different geographic contexts, raising important questions about what an anthropological analysis can contribute to a concept that is increasingly reshaping economies and restructuring global flows of virgin commodities, recyclables, and waste.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by UKRI.

Weight: 322g
Dimension: 136 x 217 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350296633